I like diesel estates (sports wagons) because they are more economical in terms of tax and mpg. You loose the off-road capabilities, but instead get less drag, weight and so which improves mpg. Loosing the all wheel drive also improves mpg. Anything that worsens mpg is bad when fuel prices are almost twice those in the US/China.

And why not get the estate? The sedan is already a 4 door and not exactly a single-seat race car anyway. Even the coupe versions weigh almost the same, and handling differences shouldn't be that major. I think the BMW estates look very very good, and for any young single man, looking like a "family-type" is actually not a bad thing!

Many males naturally buy cars that other males like. Then later they do not understand why they only get admiration from this group of people...

I think many girls like SUVs because they are bigger. They feel they are safer and easier to drive. But while a bigger car may look safer, if you think about it, it will be harder to stop and easier to roll if involved in a motorway accident. Anyhow in countries like the US and China, where fuel is cheaper, and bigger is just sometimes better, SUVs are preferred over estates. This "bigger is better", I guess, also explains why the 6-series is larger than the 3-series coupe. There is an image attached driving bigger cars of the same brand... Even if it offers little sense, from an engineering point of view, people just like to pay for this. This is probably also why BMWs always grow a little in size with each generation.

There is also 2 more things :

1) If you are a sport type person , it's good to have a long boot car. Snowboards and expensive bikes sit there perfectly

2) It has actually higher roof and more space there for long trips to Alps :P

And the most important , it actually look cool (for 30 year old me).

P.S. i would buy one if they had 330XD , the last time I've checked it only comes RWD.